Dr. Chuck's CREW Cookies

THESE COOKIES COME WITH A SHORT STORY ABOUT "SILVER LININGS"....

Some of you may know that our daughter worked all her young life with the goal of playing basketball in college, only to blow out her knee just 4 days before the try-out camp at the university of her dreams. Despite a year of meticulous rehab, the knee never recovered for the kind of punishing lateral movements required in basketball, so she passed on the offer to continue playing. 

Within a week of arriving on campus, she was missing the camaraderie of athletics, and decided to give the sport of "Crew" a try as a walk-on,.. never dreaming it would become anything more than an intramural lark. As fate would have it though, she seems to have the ideal length and strength for rowing, and she has made her way into one of the team's long eight-women boats.  They say she rows like a tireless bull, and that "Basketball's loss is crew's gain!" The knee is great for the confined movements of rowing and she just LOVES it. Who knew!? 



We should call these our "silver lining" cookies! We are thrilled to see her regain the "sparkle"  that athletic successes once gave her! (Life is funny with its twists and turns, isn't it?!) 

Dr. Chuck made 8 dozen of these amazing cookies and took them to her first race. We think this is one of the best cookie recipes we've ever come across. The rowers loved them so much that they continue to ask him to bring them to every race we can possibly attend. (The coaches even request their own private stash now!)

Dr. Chuck's White Chocolate/ Macadamia Nut Cookies for Liesl's Rowing Team

Chuck lets these get crispy brown on the outside, and they are still fluffy and soft on the inside!

Prep: 15 min.      Cook: 10

Original Recipe Yield 3 dozen

 Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate

 

Directions

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• 2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• 3. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

 

Of course, for these big sporting events, Dr. Chuck triples the recipe. Make more than you think you need,.. They won't go to waste!